April 18, 2020
In the Media

Yossi Sheffi is quoted in Vox

“We admire the way that the system works,” Yossi Sheffi, a supply chain expert and the director of MIT’s Center for Transportation and Logistics, told Vox. “The virus is still moving from state to state and it’s not uniform all over the country, so the demand patterns are changing all the time. But at the end of the day, we don’t see it as a real danger that we will run out of food.”

In the meantime, consumers will also have to adjust. Their preferred food items, package sizes, and brand names might not be available temporarily. The developed world has gotten used to the idea of being able to walk into the grocery store and pick up anything — but that’s a luxury, Sheffi said.

“It’s less convenient, but let’s also remember that most of humanity has never had this, even today,” he said. “In the US, everything is available, whatever you want. Let’s get a grip — food will continue flowing.”

Vox